Why You Should Care
The tracking industry often treads in the grey area of what is legal and socially acceptable. As a result, there are many reasons why you should be concerned about tracking on the internet.
You Are Automatically Opted-In
The third-party tracking industry's general approach to collecting your information is a bit troubling. You are opted-in until you manually opt-out. But how can you opt-out of being tracked by thousands of companies you've never heard of using a method that is difficult to find?
It Creates A Hostile Environment
Trackers have incentive to work against your browser's security settings because the data is always there for the taking, thanks to the automatic opt-in. Getting as much data as possible is in their best interests.
Real World example: Amazon used Flash Cookies and methods to get around security settings a few years ago, and were sued for trespass and unjust enrichment. The case was ultimately dismissed because it was impossible to put an exact value on personal data.
The Potential for Rights Violation
Thanks to Snowden's leaked documents, we know the NSA spied on citizens by piggy-backing on the third-party tracking system. Individual data has been used against U.S. citizens time and time again. It was used against civil rights supporters during the Civil Rights Movement, against Japanese citizens after Pearl Harbor, and against Arab citizens following the September 11 attacks. What events would have to happen for all the data gathered on you to be used against you?
They May Know Who You Are
The tracking industry argues they never know who you are. You are always an ID number. However, several times in the past, social media account information has been sold from company to company. Some tracking companies even specialize in tying your name to your information.
You Should Have Control of Your Own Data
After a company collects your information for free, they often sell it to other companies for profit. Your data is often used against you in targeted advertising in an attempt to get you to spend money. Some argue you should be entitled to the value of your own data. You should at least be able to control who gets this valuable information.
You Can Be Manipulated
Online retailers may (and sometimes already do) charge you different prices for the same product based on the information they collect about you. Real World example: Have friends in a different part of the country? Test this one yourself.
Even scarier, a Stanford University study found you will like a politician more if their picture is ever-so-slightly blended with your own. This may be possible with custom ads as we move into the future. A politician would have many reasons to use such a technology.
You may already know that Google provides different results for different people from identical searches. How much is Google changing your perception of the world? How much could targeted ads change your view of the world?
You Can Get Stuck In A "Hall of Mirrors"
This is a term Julia Angwin discusses in her book Dragnet Nation. When ad companies provide targeted ads from a profile based on your web use, some bad things can result.
Real World example: A 2013 Harvard study found if you search for a black-sounding name, you are 25 percent more likely to get ads suggesting an arrest record than if you searched for a white-sounding name. Apply this mirror-like effect to every way you use the web, and it can start to seem like you are trapped inside a box - or a hall of mirrors - by targeted ads.
Your Data Has Value
Tracking companies make huge profits by collecting information that was completely unattainable just a couple decades prior. If the tracking companies wanted the same information back then, they would have to follow you around and record everything you looked at, bought, and did. Don't make the mistake of thinking your data has no value.
Knowledge Is Power…Over You
An advertiser that tracks you wants you to buy a widget, and knows you typically search for widgets online between 6 and 7 p.m. Is it fair for them to send you an advertisement for a widget in that time frame, or is it a form of advertising entrapment? Where is the line between controlling our own behavior, and having our behavior controlled? Even worse: We, as consumers, have no idea who is gathering data on us. We are at the mercy of whoever the website owner has invited to watch us browse.
They May Already Be Violating Your Rights
The Fourth Amendment in the Bill of Rights protects U.S. citizens from "unreasonable search and seizure." Courts have determined that warrantless wiretapping is a violation of this amendment. Tracking giant DoubleClick faced a lawsuit in 2000 that alleged their method of tracking - cookies - was a form of warrantless wiretapping. The fate of the entire third-party tracking system was at stake in the case. The judge ruled in DoubleClick's favor, setting the stage for web surveillance. Companies do not have to disclose who is watching. Is this the same as secret wiretapping, or not?
Next: Tracking Basics